Official Stats show flow of veterans into prison.

These official stats show the flow of veterans into prison over 5 months.  Regrettably, it does not show those on community orders / Probation

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/519447/receptions-oct-dec-2015.xlsx

Between July and December 2015, 1,439 former members of the armed forces entered prison. Of these, 1,399 were male and 40 were female.

Why is Change so slow?

6 years ago Erwin James wrote about veterans in prison for the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/feb/09/erwin-james-soldiers-prison .

He followed this up in Inside Time, highlighting an excellent book by veteran Jimmy Johnson - http://www.insidetime.org/the-veterans-survival-guide/

Since then the problem has continued to grow.  Is it simply too big for the Government to care to admit to, or are they hoping that, with time, it will all go away?

USA Veterans Incarceraton levels in Prison

The historic and current levels of US military veterans in custody suffering with PTSD are significant.   Whilst recognising the differences in size and type of military structure between the US and UK forces, there must surely be similarities in the impact of combat operations. 

Notwithstanding the somewhat political introduction, which one can either support or ignore, this US film serves to highlight other important issues and statistics, many of which can also be seen here in the UK, all of which we should be very concerned about!